Confederate grave at Hardware Baptist Churc

I’ve decided to reactivate my blog. It’s been dormant for a couple of years. Last year I moved into a new position and have not been shooting much lately. Reactivating the blog is a reason for me to begin shooting more again.

This seems a good image to begin with. It’s from a visit this past week to Hardware Baptist Church outside Charlottesville, Va.

The faded flag is a remembrance of times past. At the back of Hardware Baptist are two cemeteries — one for whites, including graves of Confederate veterans — and one for slaves.

As a young woman before going to the mission field, Lottie Moon — revered Southern Baptist missionary who served 40 years in China — taught a Sunday School class for children in the choir loft of this small, rural church. Above the loft is a gallery. Slaves worshipped there while their masters attended services below.

The old building and its grounds have all the earmarks of their time. Moon grew up at Viewmont, the family plantation a short way up the road. They owned and worked the land with 52 slaves.

Yet when Moon taught her class, the children met together. They were not separated. There was no distinction between Black and White.